1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a packaging box for packaging goods, and a packaging method using the packaging box, which packaging box and method are used, for example, when intermediately packaged photosensitive printing plates are further packaged (externally packaged).
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 10 shows a conventional packaging box 110 as an example. FIG. 11 shows the packaging box 110 before it has been folded (see Japanese Patent Application Publication (JP-B) No. 57-38,150).
As shown in FIG. 11, in the packaging box 110, bottom-surface lamination panels 116 and upper-surface lamination panels 118 are formed adjacently to respective two short sides of a bottom surface panel 112 and an upper surface panel 114. A plurality of bend lines 120 are formed in each of the bottom-surface lamination panel 116 and the upper-surface lamination panel 118. By folding these lamination panels along the bend lines 120, as shown in FIG. 10, four-sided spiral-wound portions 122 and 124 are formed. As a result, goods contained in the packaging box 110 are protected. For example, if a great impact acts on the box from outside, the impact transmitted internally is reduced thereby helping to prevent damage to the goods.
As described above, in the conventional packaging box 110, a process in which the bottom-surface lamination panel 116 and the upper-surface lamination panel 118 are folded along the plurality of bend lines 120 was required. Further, as the size of goods to be packaged increases, great force becomes necessary for the folding operation. Therefore, folding at correct positions substantially only by a manual operation was very difficult. For this reason, there were cases in which a large-size folding apparatus was required, but it resulted in greater manufacturing costs.
FIG. 12 shows a packaging box 140 different from the packaging box shown in FIG. 10. FIG. 13 shows the packaging box 140 before it has been folded (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) No. 10-16,946).
As shown in FIG. 13, in the packaging box 140, side surface panels 144 are respectively extended from the longer sides of a bottom surface panel 142 and cover surface panels 146 extend from the side surface panels 144. Further, a side surface panel 148 and face panels 150 sequentially extend from each of the shorter sides of the bottom surface panel 142. When the packaging box 140 is assembled, as shown in FIG. 12, an upper surface of the box is structured so as to open like a double door and a three-sided tubular body 152 is formed along each side of the box by the side surface panel 148 and the face panels 150.
However, as can be seen from the unfolded configuration shown in FIG. 13, in the packaging box 140, a length of the side surface panel 144 and the cover surface panel 146 extending from the bottom surface panel 142 and a length of the side surface panel 148 and the face panels 150 extending from the bottom surface panel 142 are both long. For this reason, a great quantity of corrugated fiberboard becomes necessary in forming such a packaging box 140. Particularly, as the size of goods to be packaged become larger, the quantity of required corrugated fiberboard increases, thereby resulting in an increase of manufacturing costs.